It notes that the six states whose waterways feed the bay met their goal this year of conserving 20 percent of the watershed, which it says was one of the few bright spots in the bay restoration effort.

A new restoration strategy in response to a presidential executive order calls for conserving an additional 2 million acres. The report's authors say that will help keep several million pounds of nitrogen a year out of the bay.

The strategy calls for a 25 percent cut in nitrogen entering the bay by 2025.